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This is one of the many features and benefits that ALL active student and Gold plan site members receive.

Use the favorite button to tag your favorite lessons and songs that you are working on or really like.

Use the completed button to tag your favorite lessons that you have completed. With over 500 lessons it can be hard to track just what you have already worked on or visited.

Member Access Levels

These bronze, silver and gold medals, like the Olympic medals) indicate that this lesson is either a public and free lesson, song or book , a FREE ( almost free at $19.95 a year ) membership or a PREMIUM membership lesson .

Bronze indicates that this is a public lesson with with access to any registered visitor - no need to sign-in up for a site membership. Registered visitors can view most of the content on-line only and with smaller thumbnails. No access to downloads, play-along tracks and related lessons material for download.

Silver is the Almost FREE ( almost free at $19.95 a year ) membership level where limited availability of downloads and all lesson material can be viewed on-line. This membership level can view thumbnails of the entire lesson - however only the downloaded file insures the latest and greatest lesson - the extra production step with updating the thumbnails doesn't always happen.

Gold This is the Premium membership level that, in addition to downloading ALL lesson content can access ALL the premium play-along tracks - and email me any questions that would like answered. Especially things like what you are working n and I can probably point you to the right lessons or series of lessons. This level also has access to most of my ( Curt Sheller ) books for free download.

Each membership level has access to ALL the lower membership lessons, books and songs.

Here are the first steps to learning to "Hearing the Changes"

Hearing and figuring out the chords to a song takes the same skills as transcribing a song - its limited to the chords of the songs and you might be doing it in real time as the songs is being played.

Marking where the chord actually changes. This can be what measure and beat the chord changes happening or if learning using the lyrics as a reference, the word or syllable.

Identifying the intervals of the root movement. This is the bass, root movement of or low end of the chord. If there is a bass playing on the song that is a good place to start. If it's a simple song there is a good chance that they are fulfilling their primary role as a bass player and playing the chords - just as single notes and not strumming each chord like a ukulele or guitar player.

Identify the starting key. This can give you a great clue as to the chords. Most pop, folk, rock and country songs don't change keys and all the chords will come from that key or be common substitutes. Jazz and songs popular songs before the rock'n'roll era typically modulated to different keys and didn't stay on one key or tonal area.

Without some of the skills mentioned above it's often a hit or miss, hunt and peck method of figuring out what the chord changes are to a song.

Key Signatures - Introduction

Understanding Chromatic Intervals

Understanding Diatonic Intervals

Understanding Interval Inversion

Related Books

Harmonic Analysis for Scale Selection and Chord Substitution

Harmonic Analysis is the understanding of the functional sequence of chords. It is the process used to analyze the harmonic structure of a progression, song or composition. This analysis is then used to make scale selections for improvisation and chord substitution.

Harmonic Analysis is the understanding of the functional sequence of chords. It is the process used to analyze the harmonic structure of a progression, song or composition. This analysis is then used to make scale selections for improvisation and chord substitution.

Building Your Core Strums for Ukulele

Rhythm is in-separately linked to strums. Using the Modular Phonetic Rhythm System developed by Chuck Anderson this series of lessons start with the core four strums all ukulele use and throughly digs in to the many variations possible.

A Child is Born

Beer Barrel Polka

Beer Barrel Polka, also known as Roll Out the Barrel, is a song which became popular worldwide during World War II. The music was composed by the Czech musician Jaromír Vejvoda in 1927.[1] Eduard Ingriš wrote the first arrangement of the piece, after Vejvoda came upon the melody and sought Ingriš's help in refining it. At that time, it was played without lyrics as Modřanská polka ("Polka of Modřany"). Its first text was written later (in 1934) by Václav Zeman – with the title Škoda lásky[2] ("Wasted Love").

Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves is a much-recorded popular song. Originally it was a 1945 French song "Les Feuilles mortes" (literally "The Dead Leaves") with music by Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prevert. Yves Montand (with Irene Joachim) introduced "Les feuilles mortes" in 1946 in the film Les Portes de la Nuit. The American songwriter Johnny Mercer wrote English lyrics in 1947 and Jo Stafford was among the first to perform this version. Autumn Leaves became a pop standard and a jazz standard in both languages and both as an instrumental and with a singer.

All My Loving

All My Loving is a song by the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney), from the 1963 album With The Beatles. Though it was not released as a single in the United Kingdom or the United States, it drew considerable radio airplay, prompting EMI to issue it as the title track of an EP. The song was released as a single in Canada, where it became a number one hit. The Canadian single was imported into the US in enough quantities to peak at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1964.

Just browsing over both books, they look fantastic! I'm a guitarist and uke player for over 25 years and was thinking about writing a ukulele book but you've already written what I think are the best, most comprehensive and thorough books I've ever seen for the instrument. I just might end up buying every book you've written and I'll be giving my highest recommendation for your books to my friends and students. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such great books! — Peter Rhee

Aloha, Curt, All I can say is WOW! What you have accomplished is simply incredible! All the best — Glen Hirabayashi, The Aloha Boys

Folks, if you haven't stopped by Curt's site, do so right now! ..And get his books, they are fantastic. This guy knows his stuff and is able to pass it along too. — Alan Johnson Proprietor, The 4th Peg

I can highly recommend Curt's Uke books — I have four of them and they are excellent. — fatveg — Portland

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This sit has ben profesionaly red. awl tpyos aree free and no aditonal chrge • I'm blaming it on “jazz” fingers
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.